We have a shopping hack for you today. We all know that technology in the US is much cheaper than in other countries, and there is often a much wider selection of the latest gadgets and devices. But not every online store sends its products to all corners of the world (they simply don’t offer worldwide shipping). However, there are package forwarding companies like Planet Express. We’ve been a little bit hesitant because we never heard of them yet. So we were more than surprised to find out what opportunities Planet Express opens.
Bonus: We negotiated $5 discount code for you!
How Package Forwarding With Planet Express Works?
Planet Express is a company from the California, US. The package forwarding process can be described in 3 simple steps:
- You sign up on their site and pay a $5 deposit. This deposit prevents fraudsters from abusing Planet Express service and according to them works really great. The deposit is later added as your shipping credit, so you don’t have to worry about losing it.
- Then, you will get a US address with a unique suite ID A****. According to this number, the incoming packages will be linked to your account and stored in the Planet Express warehouse.
The US address looks like the example below:
Kevin James
17224 S. Figueroa Street #A1234
Gardena, CA 90248, USA
- To this address, you can order goods from different US stores, for example, Amazon, BestBuy, NewEgg, and many more! Tips for online stores you can find on their blog).
You can get the US address from Planet Express for free in the Free Package Plan (packages will be stored for free for 10 days at their warehouse). If you want to use the consolidation service (it is explained below), you have to upgrade your account to the Consolidated package plan. It costs $10 per month or $50 per year and your packages will be stored for up to 45 days for free.
What Is The Package Consolidation?
If you order from multiple stores, you can use package consolidation service. They will make 1 package from 5 (for example). This saves you even more money due to lower weight and smaller dimensions.
How does consolidation work?
One of the biggest advantages of Planet Express service is the availability of goods – you can order goods that are US exclusive only. In addition, postage via Planet Express is much cheaper than if you were looking for your own solution (courier). It is thanks to the large volume of packages that Planet Express sends via carriers like DHL, FedEx, USPS, or Aramex because. They can negotiate better conditions than you – as an individual person.
How Much Does It All Cost?
Let’s say you want to order a smartphone that fits into a box with the following dimensions and weight:
30x15x10 cm
1 kg
Prices for the shipping 30x15x10 cm package (1 kg) to India. The prices have been calculated on 11.1.2019.
The postage calculator tool gives you price and time estimation. In our opinion, this is a great tool. The cost of postage depends mainly on the dimensions of the package, its weight and the delivery method you choose – the faster, the more expensive of course.
For cheaper products, Planet Express recommends Planet Mail Economy, Planet Mail Express, and USPS methods. For those more expensive, use carriers like DHL and FedEx.
Do I Have To Pay Customs Duties?
It should be mentioned that even with Planet Express, you will not be able to avoid customs duties for 100 %. Basically, it depends on whether your package will be checked by customs officers or not. India has no de minimis value. This means that you will have to pay duties and taxes from every imported package.
Don’t You Have Enough Time? Use Shop For Me
Shop For Me is a very interesting and useful service. If you don’t have enough time or you do not know how to do the order, you just need to enter a request in the Planet Express administration, and their employees order the goods for you. Of course, the service is charged ($5 + 7% of the total order to cover bank charges).
Shop For Me form in the Planet Express administration.
You can use Shop For Me if you are able to pay in US dollars only (in a specific store). You recharge your Planet Express credit (with Indian rupee) and Planet Express will buy the things for you (using American dollars). How cool is that?
Try Fulfillment Service For Your Online Business
Do you know the fulfilment service? It is a service where you don’t have to own your own warehouse – just send your products and packages (or palette) to Planet Express warehouse and they will take care of everything from storage to order dispatching. So, if you’re running your own online store, I’d recommend visiting their fulfilment page.
Can I Trust Them?
Absolutely. Check the reviews of Planet Express customers at Trustpilot.com or Facebook. There are hundreds of them.
Feel free to share this package forwarding service with your family and friends and you can earn extra money ($5 for every customer that sends the package with Planet Express) with their affiliate program!
PS: The promo code is HOOPS. Simply fill it in their administration system (redeem voucher tab) to get 5$ off to your first order.